Editor's Pick: A tempered line on Jammu and Kashmir

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet today with leaders of several mainstream political parties from Jammu and Kashmir, 22 months after his government removed the region's statehood, placed several of the same leaders under house arrest, and removed Special Status provisions guaranteed to J&K under Article 370 of the Constitution. The main agenda of the government is to get the cooperation of the parties on the delimitation exercise that it is pushing in the State. Delimitation, or the changing of Assembly constituency boundaries based on latest population figures, is a politically loaded exercise in J&K. The State stayed out of the last delimitation exercise in the country after the 2001 census based on its Special Status, and passed a law against holding any delimitation exercise till 2026. However, after nullifying Special Status and bringing the region under its direct control as a Union Territory, the Centre moved ahead on the process; the delimitation commission is beginning work in earnest this month. The current J&K legislature has 83 active seats, of which 46 are from Kashmir and 37 from Jammu. The delimitation exercise is expected to add 7 more seats in Jammu, where the BJP has a strong presence. The additional seats could place the BJP in a position to form the government in J&K, trumping the NC and PDP that have dominated J&K politics for decades. However, with their strong results in the recent district development council elections, the local political parties have shown that they remain a force that the BJP govt in the Centre cannot ignore in J&K. That the PM is now meeting with members of the Gupkar Alliance formed by these parties -- whom he had pointed out as the "dynasties" responsible for the developmental morass in J&K -- is indicative of the lack headway the Centre has made on its goals for J&K, says Suhasini Haidar in her comment in The Hindu today. This tempering of the Centre's approach to the region from the forceful stance it took 22 months ago is what makes this story important. The Hindu's Editorials Friends in need: On BJP and Opposition unity Engage Iran: On U.S. blocking Iran-linked websites Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Head over to our newsletter subscription page to sign up for Editor's Pick and more. Click here Try out The Hindu's daily news quiz Who made history by becoming the first woman to umpire in a men’s home international cricket match after being appointed as fourth umpire for the first T20I against Sri Lanka in Cardiff? 1. Claire Polosak 2. Sue Redfern 3. Kathy Cross 4. Isa Guha To find out the answer and play the full quiz, click here [logo] Editor's Pick 24 JUNE 2021 [The Hindu logo] In the Editor's Pick newsletter, The Hindu explains why a story was important enough to be carried on the front page of today's edition of our newspaper. [Arrow]( [Open in browser]( [Mail icon]( [More newsletters]( A tempered line on Jammu and Kashmir [A tempered line on Jammu and Kashmir] [Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet today]( with leaders of several mainstream political parties from Jammu and Kashmir, 22 months after his government removed the region's statehood, placed several of the same leaders under house arrest, and[removed Special Status provisions]( guaranteed to J&K under Article 370 of the Constitution. The main agenda of the government is to get the cooperation of the parties on the delimitation exercise that it is pushing in the State. Delimitation, or the changing of Assembly constituency boundaries based on latest population figures, is a politically loaded exercise in J&K. The State stayed out of the last delimitation exercise in the country after the 2001 census based on its Special Status, and passed a law against holding any delimitation exercise till 2026. However, after nullifying Special Status and bringing the region under its direct control as a Union Territory, the Centre moved ahead on the process; the delimitation commission is beginning work in earnest this month. The current J&K legislature has 83 active seats, of which 46 are from Kashmir and 37 from Jammu. The delimitation exercise is expected to add 7 more seats in Jammu, where the BJP has a strong presence. The additional seats could place the BJP in a position to form the government in J&K, trumping the NC and PDP that have dominated J&K politics for decades. However, [with their strong results]( in the recent district development council elections, the local political parties have shown that they remain a force that the BJP govt in the Centre cannot ignore in J&K. That the PM is now meeting with members of [the Gupkar Alliance formed by these parties]( -- whom he had pointed out as the "dynasties" responsible for the developmental morass in J&K -- is indicative of the lack headway the Centre has made on its goals for J&K, [says Suhasini Haidar in her comment in The Hindu]( today. This tempering of the Centre's approach to the region from the forceful stance it took 22 months ago is what makes this story important. The Hindu's Editorials [Arrow][Friends in need: On BJP and Opposition unity]( [Arrow][Engage Iran: On U.S. blocking Iran-linked websites]( [underlineimg] Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Head over to our newsletter subscription page to sign up for Editor's Pick and more. [Click here]( [underlineimg] Try out The Hindu's daily news quiz Who made history by becoming the first woman to umpire in a men’s home international cricket match after being appointed as fourth umpire for the first T20I against Sri Lanka in Cardiff? 1. Claire Polosak 2. Sue Redfern 3. Kathy Cross 4. 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